Memorial

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1st Lt Charles E. Keaney graduated from Brookline High School in 1941.

He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve on 6 October 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Statement of 1st Lt Andrew Lowell, who flew in the same mission: "Lt Keaney was flying Red 3 in my flight. About 1200 hours at 1,000 feet and ten minutes after crossing out over French coast, I looked back and saw vapor coming from Lt Keaney's airplane. I asked him if he was firing his guns. He said he was losing coolant. I told him to try opening the coolant shutter to full open. He said he had tried, but it would not open. He then started climbing for altitude and jettisoned his canopy. Everything let loose then, and the cockpit was filled with smoke. I had been calling for a steer to the nearest field. Lt Keaney lost all his coolant and the engine was flaming from the exhaust stacks when it quit. He pulled up to a stall and bailed out. I called Air-Sea Rescue and called for a fix, which I got immediately. I circled Lt Keaney until he hit the water, got out of his chute, inflated his Mae West and was making for his dinghy. Then I lost him in the rough sea and did not pick him up again even though I was vectored, with another member of my flight, back to the spot many times. Red 2 was sent to try to pick up the Air-Sea Rescue ships but could not sight one. So he went home. Some P-47s swept the area, a Warwick dropped a flare on the spot, and a Walrus swept the area. The search was still on when Red 4 and I had to leave because of lack of fuel. We landed at approximately 1530 hours at home base."